Maria Fassi is battling. Playing mostly on the Epson Tour the last two seasons and getting just three starts (all missed cuts) on the LPGA in 2026, Fassi is closer to regaining status on the big tour.
She still has a way to go, but considering she opened her week at LPGA Q-Series Qualifying Stage with a 75, things are looking up.
Fassi admitted she came into this stage with a "scared mindset" but walked away as co-medalist after a final-round 5-under 67 and a four-day total of 275. Juniper Jang of Korea bogeyed the last to also finish at 13 under overall.
Gigi Stoll shot the round of the day with her 9-under 63. She eagled the 16th, the same hole where she holed out in the second round. Stoll finished 9-under to tie for eighth.
Fassi also shot 67
in Wednesday's Round 2 and her third round at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, featured a hole-out eagle en route to a 66.
Fassi was the 2019 NCAA individual champion at Arkansas and a two-time winner of the Annika Award. She famously dueled Jennifer Kupcho before coming up short in the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2019.
But her pro career hasn't taken off. She's played just six rounds on the LPGA in 2026, not breaking 70 in any of them. This is after a 2025 season where she had nine LPGA starts and 11 more on the Epson Tour, where she was 12-for-18 cuts made. She earned just $37,200 in prize money in 2026.
The top 55 finishers earn Epson Tour cards for 2027 but Fassi is through to Final Qualifying Stage in Mobile, Alabama, Nov. 19-23. At its conclusion, the top 25 and ties will earn 2027 LPGA tour cards. All others who complete all four rounds will earn tour cards for the 2027 Epson Tour season.
Todd Kelly is the assistant managing editor of Golfweek.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Shaking off 'scared mindset,' Maria Fassi is co-medalist at LPGA Q-Series Qualifying
